Lessons from the horse's mouth (or Lego dinosaur as the case may be)

A week's break from the newsroom wasn't long enough to get completely refreshed, especially when packing in the whole school holiday in the big smoke tourist thing.

(That included a visit to the Australian Museum's Lego Dinosaur exhibit - for the kids of course!)

But it is just long enough to break the flow.

And then on my return this week, we had a host of strategy meetings and training sessions keeping us busy.

Ongoing training and development is a crucial part of our role as journalists - I'd suggest it's key to any role really.

While it can feel like information overload, to learn of the breadth of tools and skillsets available to us - and having access to excellent people able to explain them - is never time wasted.

It does raise important questions for me as an editor and team leader though.

Is what we are doing in line with what our audience wants? What is it that you, our valued reader, wishes and expects from us?

We cherish the support of our loyal subscribers and we want to know what you want. Providing best value for money is key.

There's rather a lot that website analytics and reader data can tell me. But I would prefer to hear from you directly.

What do we do of which you'd like to see more? What could you do without?

Is there something we aren't doing you would like to see added to the mix and for which you'd happily pay the modest subs fee?

Know that we are entirely committed to providing our audience with exceptional content on matters and topics that are important to you. It can be easier said than done, but it's certainly what my team and I aim to achieve each and every day.

I am always open to ideas and critique and would love to hear yours.

Email me anytime at ben.smyth@begadistrictnews.com.au

- Ben Smyth, Editor